


A Helping Hand

by Eilera



Series: Escort Shiro [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Escorts, Brief Mention of Violence, Dorks in Love, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Matt is Not Prepared for How Hot Shiro Is, Matt is a Genius, Mutual Pining, Nothing explicit, Shiro is Not Prepared for How Hot Matt Is, Shiro is an Escort, They're Both Still Dorks, fancy parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 07:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14995610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilera/pseuds/Eilera
Summary: God, wasn’t there a word for what he was looking for? He didn’t want sex, just someone to wow his family and colleagues with at the fancy party. Didn’t snooty politicians do that all the time?Escort. That’s what he wanted. A high-end escort. They weren’t prostitutes, right? They were just people you could hire to look pretty on your arm.Matt carefully typed ‘male escorts’ into Google. Clicking on the first website that popped up, he was greeted with a very professional-looking page complete with photos of a large array of very, very good-looking men.“Oh.” Matt squeaked, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks.(In which Matt needs a date for a fancy party and Shiro is a very, VERY expensive escort.)





	A Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> So...this wasn't supposed to be this long but here we are. The idea for this fic came from an anonymous ask on Tumblr. In my other Shatt fic, Fractured, Matt briefly teases Shiro about how he could be an expensive hoe. Hope you like how it turned out, Nonny!
> 
> But, honestly, Shiro's worth every penny. 
> 
> Special thanks to [DeathByStorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByStorm/works) for beta'ing as usual.

 “Are you gonna go?” Pidge asked, poking her head over his shoulder.

Matt stared at the elegant invitation clutched in his hand. The script was so ridiculously flowy and loopy he could hardly read it.

“God, I don’t want to.” Matt groaned, throwing it down onto the kitchen table. “Why are they punishing me? _I’m_ the one that did something awesome. They should be giving me a lifetime supply of pizza pockets or something. Not…this.” He gestured angrily towards the invitation.

“It’s an honour, Matthew.” His mother said, giving her son a proud smile. “They just want to thank you for all that you’ve done.”

Matt sighed, slouching down in the chair so that his head barely made it over the table. “Some thank you this is.” He muttered petulantly.

Colleen’s mouth tightened, her smile turning somewhat predatory. Matt felt a shiver slide down his spine. “You will go.” She said, leaving no room for argument.

“O-of course! What an honour, truly!” Matt exclaimed jumping up from his seat.

Pidge gave him Evil Grin #34. Oh no. He wasn’t going to like whatever was about to happen.

“It says here you can bring a plus one.”

She was evil. Pure evil.

“I-“ Matt started, but his mother let out an excited cheer.

“Does this mean we’ll finally get to meet your boyfriend?”

Matt could feel his heart stutter to a stop in his chest. What the hell was happening right now!? He was supposed to bask in the adoration of his family for accomplishing something great. The youngest person to win an Altean Award for revolutionary advancements in engineering. He’d managed to create a literal tricorder, straight out of Star Trek. It could scan the human body to help diagnose diseases and collect bodily information about a patient. It had saved millions of lives. He had to enjoy the notoriety while it lasted before his sister inevitably beat his record.

She was so freaking smart. Sometimes it scared him.

God, he loved her so much.

“Mom!” His voice sounded like a cat in heat.

“Yeah, Matt. Why don’t you invite your mystery boyfriend?” Pidge’s grin was all teeth and no warmth. Her glasses glinted in the light.

He took it back. She was an evil, evil little gremlin.

Matt narrowed his eyes at her, but she looked completely and shamelessly unrepentant. She probably learned that from him, dammit. Consequences. Why were there always consequences!?

“Fine.” He said, false bravado oozing from every pore. “I’ll invite him. You guys will be blown away by my smoking hot, smart boyfriend.”

Colleen gave him a pleased smile. “I can’t wait to meet him.” She grabbed her coat off the hook near the door and gave the two siblings a wink. “I need to go pick up your father from the airport. I’ll bring home some dinner.”

“Wendys!” Matt called out.

“KFC!” Pidge cut in, elbowing him in the side.

“Ow, _Pidge_! I don’t want to eat deep-fried cardboard for dinner!”

“Don’t you dare, Matt. Don’t insult the Colonel!”

“He’s an old man. I thought you would have liked Wendys, she’s savage like you.”

“I don’t wa-“

“I’m getting Subway sandwiches!” Colleen trilled before slamming the door behind her.

Matt and Pidge blinked simultaneously.

“Ew.” Pidge said.

“Gross. I might as well just go home.” Matt groaned.

They sat in silence for a moment, Matt staring morosely at the stupid invitation.

“I told you lying about a boyfriend was going to get you in trouble. I know you don’t really have a one. If you did you’d never shut up about him.” Pidge eventually said, flicking him in the back of the head with her finger.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Uh, speak for yourself? I definitely have a boyfriend. He’s real and hot and he loves me.”

Pidge laughed as she opened the fridge to pull out a can of coke. “You couldn’t pay someone enough money to date you.”

Matt bristled. “Ex _cuse_ me? I am a treasure.”

Pidge raised one delicate eyebrow. She slowly looked him up and down. He was in his favourite threadbare Star Trek hoodie and holey sweatpants. “You’re certainly a _something_.”

Matt stood up sharply, golden-brown eyes alight with a fiery determination. “I’ll prove you wrong, just you wait and see.”

“I look forward to it.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“You couldn’t pay someone enough money to date you.”_

Matt glared at his living room ceiling from his awkward position on the couch. He was laying half on the floor, with his legs hooked over the cushions. Maybe it was a weird position, but it was his own goddamn apartment. He could sit however he wanted, thank you very much.

He sighed. Once again, his big mouth had gotten him into trouble. He was two days away from this stupid party and he hadn’t managed to find a hot, smart boyfriend. Or, well, any boyfriend at all. He decided to blame that on his hermit-like tendencies. He hardly got out of his apartment except to get food, visit his family or for work. Considering he mostly worked from home, that meant he hardly stepped outside most of the time. Especially when food could be brought directly to his door.

“I’d date me.” He told the ceiling.

Matt didn’t really have any issues with his looks. He felt he was decent-looking. Okay, maybe he didn’t make a lot of effort with his appearance. He liked to live in nerdy comfort. That meant oversized hoodies and sweatpants. He figured he could make more of an effort, but that seemed like a lot of work for nothing since he hardly went outside. Besides, weren’t people supposed to like you for you?

_“You couldn’t pay someone enough money to date you.”_

Matt froze. Wait a minute. Of course he could! God, it was embarrassing and would probably cost him an arm and a leg, but he _could_ pay someone to date him. Temporarily. It wasn’t like money was an issue for him, he made a shit ton of money off his inventions.

Wait, was he seriously considering this?

Yes. Yes, he was.

He rolled away from the couch towards his laptop, stretching his arm out awkwardly to reach it. Pulling up Google, he hesitated. What was the right word to search? He didn’t want to search for a _prostitute_. He didn’t need _The Cloud_ to have that kind of blackmail. His usual search history was bad enough. Wait, should he be in incognito mode?

He paused.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Feeling like he was looking at really fucked up porn or something, Matt typed out “hire male companion” before deleting it without actually searching. That was going to bring up porn, he knew it.

God, wasn’t there a word for what he was looking for? He didn’t want sex, just someone to wow his family and colleagues with at the fancy party. Didn’t snooty politicians do that all the time?

Escort. That’s what he wanted. A high-end escort. They weren’t prostitutes, right? They were just people you could hire to look pretty on your arm.

Matt carefully typed ‘male escorts’ into Google. Clicking on the first website that popped up, he was greeted with a very professional-looking page complete with photos of a large array of very, _very_ good-looking men.

“Oh.” Matt squeaked, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks.

They were wearing very little clothing.

Escorts weren’t prostitutes, right? Like, he wasn’t doing anything illegal was he? No, this site looked pretty legit. They even had a Frequently Asked Questions section. That was good, because Matt had a shit load of questions.

**_Q_ ** _. Am I getting sexual favours when purchasing an escort’s services?_

_**A**. Desires Escort Services does not include sexual acts in our escort packages. Our escorts are guaranteed to be the interesting companion you need in a platonic, friendly way. (Or unfriendly, if that’s what you prefer. We don’t judge!) With that being said, should you and the escort choose to come to an agreement on your own, that is between the two of you. Desires Escort Services does not endorse prostitution._

That was basically a yes.

Oh shit. Matt was apparently hiring a prostitute.

A very expensive one, if these prices were to be believed.

He shouldn’t be doing this. He really, really shouldn’t. But he was desperate. He was sick and tired of everyone acting like he wasn’t a true adult unless he had a significant other. His parents hounded him relentlessly. They were worried he’d be forever alone.

Okay, maybe that was a very real possibility, but fuck that.

Well, either way, there was no harm in _looking_ was there? He had some very delicious eye-candy to scroll through.

Shifting to a more comfortable position, Matt clicked through the catalogue of escorts available. They were listed alphabetically and included a series of photos, a quick write-up about each one and a video of them introducing themselves.

He clicked through them, feeling like a creepy lecher every time he paused on a particularly attractive one. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to hire someone?

He stopped at a man with long white hair reaching down to his waist. It should have looked ridiculous, but the guy was rocking it. He was beautiful, but the look was ruined by a haughty air he had about him in all of his photos. Matt didn’t want someone like that at his side. Even if he was fucking hot.

Matt wanted someone nice and caring. Someone who could laugh at his cheesy jokes and eat pizza with him.

God, he was like a twelve-year-old at heart, dammit.

Matt groaned, thumping his head onto his keyboard. What was he doing? He couldn’t do this. Maybe he could fake being sick or something. His family would see right through him, but at this point he didn’t care. Katie would never let him hear the end of it, though. Could he handle that?

He sighed as he lifted his head to close his laptop. He just wanted-

 _Him_. Holy shit, did he want him.

Matt could feel his face heating up as he took in the photo of what had to be a fucking god. It must have switched to this page when he thumped his head on the keyboard. Apparently, the keyboard smash gods had spoken because the man was _ripped_ , every muscle in his abs clearly defined and oh dear _god_ those arms! Matt swallowed carefully, eyes roaming over the picture.

This man was actually wearing more clothes than many of the others, yet somehow, he was ten times more intriguing. He had a black vest on, the front left open to reveal his bare chest. His dark jeans were low on his hips and the fly was half undone, revealing a deep red pair of boxers. His right arm was raised up to card through his hair and Matt paused to take in the beautiful collage of tattoos covering every inch of it. His black hair was cut short with a buzzed undercut. The fringe was actually white, and Matt was seriously going to _die_.

He looked like a Greek god, chiseled by angels and dressed by a desire demon. Holy SHIT.

His dark eyes where heavily hooded and the look he was giving the camera made him feel _dangerous_. Matt absolutely did NOT feel a thrill over that. Not at all.

This guy was screaming _bad boy_. As much as Matt wanted him, it wasn’t really the kind of guy he wanted to bring out to show his family. Disappointed, he did not deny himself one last lingering stare at that photo because holy fucking pancakes, Batman, the guy was smoking hot.

He was just about to close the window when he noticed something.

The inner lining of the vest was covered in tiny Star Trek logos. Matt’s brain stuttered to a halt. No way. He squinted at them. Yes, that was definitely Star Trek. Taking a closer look at the man, Matt realized he was absolutely covered in subtle geeky references. His open belt buckle had a Vault-Tech logo on it from the Fallout video game franchise. The buttons of his vest were fucking Stargate. Those tattoos on his arm? They were a mural to all things geek. Matt even saw three of the five Voltron lions. He assumed the other two might be on the other side that he couldn’t see in the photo.

Matt wasn’t going to deny that the thought of this gorgeous man being a total geek went straight to his dick.

He scrolled down past the photos to the man’s profile.

 **Name:** Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane

 **Age:** 25

 **Born:** Kyoto, Japan

 **Languages:** English, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin)

 **Likes:** Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Stalking Hubble Space Telescope Photos, Drawing, Animals, Working Out, Video Games, Reading

 **Dislikes:** Shopping, Cooking, Assholes

 **Choose Shiro if You Like:** Good bad boys, geeks, animal-lovers

 _*Please be advised that this escort does have a disability. Desires Escort Services does not provide refunds. Please choose your escort carefully._

Frowning, Matt looked over the photo again. It was hard to tell with the tattoos, but eventually he realized that Shiro had a prosthetic arm.

Okay, Matt needed to remember how to breathe. This guy was all of his wet dreams come to life. There was no way this guy was real.

With shaking hands, he clicked on Shiro’s video.

“Hi there,” Shiro said cheerfully to the camera. His voice caused Matt’s heart to flutter wildly in his chest. In the video, Shiro was wearing a leather jacket and a vintage Iron Man t-shirt.

Matt whimpered.

“My name is Takashi, but everyone calls me Shiro. I’ve been in this business for several years, so I know what I’m doing.” He gave the camera a warm, confident smile. Matt could feel it searing into his skin. “I’m pretty open to things, so if you have any questions don’t-” He cut off as an absolutely enormous dog/small, fluffy horse jumped on him. He yelped, nearly falling out of his chair. The furry dog, seemingly unaware of it’s size, awkwardly tried to sit on it’s owner’s lap. Shiro’s indulgent chuckle melted Matt’s heart.

“Ah, sorry.” Shiro said, wrapping his arms around the dog and just fucking holding him up. The dog had to weigh over 150 pounds.

Jesus Christ.

“This is my dog, Champion. I rescued him in my last year of high school. I already knew at that point I wanted to be a vet. Animals deserve all the love we can give them.”

Matt paused the video, heart pounding.

Hold the front door. This man looked like sex personified, like he could order you around and you’d _like_ it.

And yet, he was so fucking wholesome, Matt could feel his teeth rotting out from sheer sweetness overload.

If this guy was real, Matt wasn’t going to survive.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiro contemplated the contents of his fridge.

He sighed, looking over at Champion.

“I don’t have any food, buddy.”

Somehow, the dog managed to give him a disapproving look.

“Okay, fine. I don’t want to cook anything.” Shiro laughed, moving over to pet the giant Caucasian Shepherd’s head. Some people could look in their fridge and make a meal from the food there. Shiro was not one of those people and he had nothing but admiration for those who could.

As he contemplated what take-out to order, his work cell phone buzzed on the coffee table. Gently shoving Champion off his feet, Shiro made his way towards it, taking in the phone number on display. That wasn’t one of his regulars. Maybe a new customer?

He picked up the phone, cradling it between his ear and shoulder as he continued to browse take-out menus. “Hi there, this is Shiro.”

There was a long pause on the other end. Shiro frowned. Another prank call?

“Uh, hi. H-hello. Good day.” A nervous voice suddenly stuttered through the speaker.

Shiro smiled. First time ordering an escort, he’d bet his money on it. He casually tossed the menus onto his coffee table, switching the phone to his other ear. “Hi, what’s your name?”

“Uhh…” The voice trailed off and Shiro could have sworn he heard him mutter ‘you can do this’ to himself. It was cute.

“You don’t have to tell me your real name if you don’t want to.” Shiro said calmly. “A fake one is fine if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“No! No. I have a name. My name is Matt. Please don’t call me Matthew.”

Shiro could feel a genuine smile spread across his lips. This guy was adorable.

“Well, it’s nice to talk to you, Matt. What can I do for you?”

“Uh…” He trailed off again, like he wasn’t sure what to say. “I’d um…I’d like to inquire…I-I mean, I’d like to…get your…help?” His voice went up at the end as if he wasn’t sure that was what he wanted.

“What kind of help do you need?” Shiro asked, letting his voice drop just a few octaves.

“Oh damn.” Matt breathed. Shiro could hear his throat click as he swallowed. “I-I mean! Um, I need a date. For a party. A fancy party.”

Oh, so it wasn’t just sex then. Shiro grinned, pleased. “I can help you with that.”

“Okay, but like, you’re going to be meeting my parents. And Katie. Seriously, I’m sorry for her in advance.” Matt babbled. “I’ve been telling my parents about a non-existent boyfriend for months now. So, I need to make sure you’re the right fit. I don’t wanna break my mom’s heart, alright?”

Shiro could feel his own heart melt into a puddle of goo. This was an odd request. He’d been someone’s date to a party before, but usually he was just arm candy with a happy ending on the side.

This was, well, a boyfriend experience.

“Would it help if we met ahead of time? It would probably be best to give ourselves a proper back-story if we’ve been dating for some time.”

Matt paused. “Uh, right. Okay. Wow. You’re just gonna roll with this, huh? Can you meet today? I can buy you lunch. The party is this Saturday.”

Whoa, talk about last minute. Well, this was certainly a challenge but Shiro’s heart went out to this poor guy. He wanted to help.

Plus, free lunch sounded good.

“Okay, where should I meet you?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiro glanced at his watch as he sipped a smoothie. Fifteen minutes late.

He sighed. Maybe this guy really was another prank. He’d sounded younger than Shiro’s usual clients. Maybe he was a university student that thought it would be funny to waste Shiro’s time. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened and probably not the last either.

His eyes roamed the mall food court. He only agreed to meet new potential clients in a public area because he’d learned the hard way to be cautious. Except, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for since he had no idea what Matt looked like. He just felt a bit let down.

Well at least he got a smoothie. Otherwise he’d be starving by now.

He was just about to call it quits when he noticed a young man tearing through the mall as if a hoard of zombies was right behind him. Shiro watched as he ran straight towards him, skidding to a halt in front of Shiro and crouching down with his hands on his knees.

Shiro sipped his smoothie.

“I’m so sorry…I’m late…” The guy huffed, trying to catch his breath.

Shiro took him in. He was shorter than Shiro but that wasn’t unusual. He was slim but there was enough definition to his arms to show he at least attempted to work out. His brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail and a few strands had pulled out, sticking every which way. His skin was flushed with exertion. After a moment, the man looked up at him with golden-brown eyes, a blush turning his face even more red as he took in Shiro.

Shiro’s heart skipped a beat.

“It took waaaay longer to buy a suit than I anticipated. I’m pretty sure the attendant grabbed my butt.”

Shiro couldn’t really blame the attendant. He wanted to grab his butt too.

No. No. Stop.

“That’s okay.” He managed to say without stuttering. He considered that a win.

Matt gave him a brilliant smile, bright enough to warm Shiro right down to his toes.

Oh no. This was bad. His potential client was _hot._ Really hot. Why did he need to pay for an escort? Shiro took a calming breath to steady himself. Most of his clients were older, well accomplished men and women. Shiro wasn’t cheap, so it wasn’t often he had someone around his own age. He found himself wondering where this guy got his money from.

Trust fund? No, he didn’t seem the type.

Oh god, not another criminal?

He followed Matt as he led him to a table off in the corner. A bit more discreet than being surrounded by wailing children and obnoxious teenagers.

As Matt sat down, Shiro took the opportunity to check him out some more.

The brunette was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized Zelda t-shirt that looked so worn it was more rag than shirt. It didn’t really matter to Shiro, but the shirt meant he was probably a geek and Shiro was happy enough with that.

“Breath of the Wild or Ocarina of Time?” Shiro asked, nodding to the shirt. He found it always helped calm potential clients down if he got them to talk about themselves. Most people liked to do that.

Matt looked a bit preoccupied as he pulled a laptop out of his bag. It was covered in NASA stickers and ridiculous doodles in sharpie. Shiro nervously wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Oh boy.

“Ocarina of Time is a classic. I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise,” Matt finally replied, popping open the lid of his laptop. He paused, narrowing his eyes at Shiro. “Are _you_ saying otherwise?”

Shiro smiled. “I’m a Twilight Princess fan, myself.”

“Heathen.” Matt mumbled as he booted up his laptop. “I’ll forgive you, though. Just this once.”

Shiro chuckled, noticing Matt swallow carefully when he looked over at him. Shiro sipped his smoothie innocently.

“I made you a PowerPoint.” Matt announced, turning the screen around by twisting it. That was neat.

“You…made me a presentation.” Shiro said slowly, taking in the first slide. It was titled ‘I’m a Strong, Independent Nerd and I Don’t Need No Man – Except When I Do: A Guide to Deceiving the Holt Family’. It was bright orange and had the cheesiest pixel art Shiro’s eyes had ever had the misfortune of seeing.

It was amazing.

“You bet your hot ass I did, big guy,” Matt winked, turning to the next slide.

Where did this confidence suddenly come from?

Shiro squirmed internally.

“Alright, first things first. I need to tell you about me. My name is Matt Holt. I’m 25 years old. My birthday’s Oct 13. Before you say anything, yes it was a Friday. My favourite colour is orange. I like both cats and dogs but if I had to choose I’d pick a rat.”

His slide showed a picture of a dog and a cat, both crossed out with big red x’s. Over both of those was a cute rat, a big green circle encasing it’s face with arrows flashing and pointing to it. Matt certainly wasn’t subtle.

Matt paused to consider him. “You wanna take any notes?”

Shiro gave him a confident smile. “Don’t need it.”

“Really?” Matt sounded sceptical, but Shiro’s smile never wavered. “We shall see…”

He continued to bombard Shiro with random facts about himself, pausing only to get them some food, as promised. It was through this he learned that Matt was an honest-to-god genius. He made his money off of his brilliant inventions, one of which won him an award and this fancy party. Strangely enough, Matt didn’t seem to be expecting sex from this agreement at all. Shiro was in awe of this cute, funny, _gifted_ nerd. He was also surprised to find he was having a great time, all things considered. Matt was really easy to talk to and Shiro felt like there was a connection, like meeting up with a good friend you hadn’t seen in months.

It was nice.

By the time he finished the slides (all 102 of them, half of which were warnings about his sister), Matt proceeded to grill him on what he’d learned. Watching his eyebrows slowly disappear into his hairline with each consecutive correct answer was immensely gratifying. Shiro liked impressing this man.

Shit, he was falling _hard_.

“Are you for real?” Matt squawked when Shiro answered nearly every question correctly on the first try.

“I assure you I am eighty-five percent real.” He grinned, lifting his prosthetic and waving it gently. The movement was awkward, and it caused a shooting pain down his back, but it was still better than nothing. It was one of the best models money could buy, but it was certainly not the most comfortable.

Matt burst out into laughter. “Alright,” he said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his full belly. “You pass. A++.”

“I’m honoured.”  


“You should be.”

“Do I get a prize?” Shiro asked, letting his voice go a bit deeper as he leaned forward. He watched in amusement as Matt’s face reddened.

Shiro was pretty sure he knew _exactly_ what kind of prize Matt wanted to give him.

And, boy, did Shiro want it too.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They stayed at the mall until the security forced them out at closing.

It was the most fun Shiro had had in awhile.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt fluttered around his apartment like a drunken butterfly. He was late. Why was he always late?!

He checked himself in the full-length mirror near his front door one more time. His dark grey suit made him look older, professional. He’d accentuated it with a crisp white shirt and a green tie. He looked pretty damn good, if he did say so himself.

“Let’s get this over with,” He said to his reflection, trying to sound like he wasn’t at all excited about spending the evening with Shiro.

He failed. Epically.

Seeing Shiro the other day had been a test. Prior to meeting him he’d managed to convince himself that Shiro’s photos had been enhanced or Photoshopped or _something_. Because, seriously? There was no freaking way he looked that good.

He was wrong. So, so _wrong_.

Shiro somehow looked even better. How was that possible!?

It had been a test of his self control and he was a goddamn saint for such restraint.

Shiro was supposed to meet him at the venue. Matt hoped he wouldn’t be too angry when he showed up late, _again._ It was a special talent of his. He popped off a quick text to Shiro _‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’_ before flailing his way out the door.

He arrived at the venue thirty minutes late. He tried to sneak in so he could pretend he’d been there the whole time, but of course he was spotted by his father almost immediately.

“There you are. I thought you were going to leave us hanging.” He said genially, trying to keep up with the cool kids’ lingo.

“No, he’s just always late.” Pidge grinned as Matt gave his parents a hug.

“Fashionably late, Pidgeon.”

“I would say you don’t even know the word fashion, but you clean up nicely.” Pidge begrudgingly admitted while her arms clamped around him in a rib-crushing hug.

Matt wheezed.

“So, where's your boyfriend?” Colleen prodded, making a show of looking around.

“Imagination Land.” Pidge cut in.

“Actually, I already knew he was going to be late so I planned accordingly.” A voice Matt was going to be hearing in his steamy dreams for the rest of his life chuckled from behind him.

Matt turned around to find Shiro standing behind him looking like fucking James Bond jacked up on sexy steroids. His 3-piece suit was fitted to his body like a second skin, the faintest of grey pinstripes cutting through the inky black. He had a white button-up shirt underneath the vest and a deep, blood red tie.

Struggling to pick his jaw up off the floor and praying that he wasn’t drooling, Matt wrapped his arms around Shiro’s prosthetic and turned to his family.

“Family, meet Shiro. My boyfriend.” He managed to choke out. Feeling like he was on the precipice of a life-saving mission, he pulled himself up and kissed Shiro on the cheek. Shiro had said it was okay to kiss him, but Matt didn’t trust himself right now.

When silence greeted his announcement, Matt peered at his family.

If the word ‘shock' ever needed to be personified, his family in this moment would have been a perfect fit.

His mom's eyes were wide as she looked Shiro up and down slowly. His dad was steadfastly _not_ looking at his date and, holy crap, he was _blushing_?

Gross, dad.

But understandable.

Katie was looking at Shiro as if he was an enigma she was already trying to puzzle out. God, he hoped he warned Shiro enough about her.

“Wow, um,” Matt's mother actually fanned herself briefly. “Wow.”

Well, he'd certainly made an impact.

“Sorry, hot cakes, I just can’t keep track of the time.” Matt smiled up at Shiro, trying to cover for his family’s awkward gaping.

Shiro’s grin widened. “I’m just excited to finally meet your family, babe.”

Babe. Babe. Babe. Babe. It echoed in his head.

Matt allowed himself a brief moment to flail on the inside.

“Alright well this is my dad, Samuel Holt.”

Matt watched in amusement as his dad twitched and stuck his hand out forcefully. “Please just call me Sam.”

Shiro shook his hand warmly.

“This is my mom,”

Instead of shaking his hand, she pulled him in for a hug that lingered way too long. C’mon mom.

“And this little gremlin is my sister, Katie.”

“Pidge.” She said immediately, calculating eyes taking in Shiro as she shook his hand.

“Family, this is my boyfriend, Shiro.”

“It’s a pleasure.” Shiro beamed a thousand-watt smile at his poor defenceless family. His mom actually grabbed onto his dad's arm for support.

Also understandable.

“Shiro…is that Chinese?” Sam asked and Matt winced. Nice to get the casual racism out of the way early.

“Japanese, actually. I moved here when I was eight.” Shiro replied, showing no sign he was annoyed with the question.

“What do you do for a living?” Matt’s mom inquired.

“I work two part time jobs right now while I’m going to school.” Shiro didn’t show a single sign he was lying out of his ass right now. What a guy. “I work as a barista in the mornings and I tutor in my spare time.”

Pidge perked up. “What are you going to school for?”

Matt snuggled up against Shiro’s arm. “My honey bunny is gonna be a veterinarian.”

His family continued to bombard the poor man with questions but eventually Matt was able to pull him away to the appetizers littering the edges of the room.

“You’re doing great.” Matt gushed as he grabbed Shiro a flute of champagne. “I can’t believe this is actually working.”

“Sorry, I don’t drink.” Shiro smiled apologetically, shaking his head at the offered drink.

“Sure, no problem. I’m sure they have non-alcoholic somewhere.” Matt trailed off as he looked at the drinks.

“Your family is wonderful.” Shiro said as Matt handed him a glass of water instead. There was a wistful tone to his words that made Matt pause.

“You don’t have to lie, it’s okay.”

“No, no! I’m serious!”

“Hmm well I’m glad you feel that way cause I’m gonna have to leave you alone for a bit. They want me to make a speech or something.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows at him. “Are you going to wow them with another blindingly orange Power Point?”

Matt groaned. “They wouldn’t let me! Apparently, it wasn’t ‘professional’. So rude.”

Shiro sighed. “Too bad. I would have enjoyed that.”

“Damn right you would have. I make the best PowerPoint presentations.”

“Do you have a speech prepared?” Shiro asked as he took a sip of the water.

“Nope. Just gonna wing it, Carebear.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be here to pick up the pieces afterwards.”

Matt squawked in dramatic indignation. “Ye of little faith. Just you wait.” He gave him a wink before taking his leave.

As he weaved through the crowd, he willed his pounding heart to subside. Talking to Shiro was just so _easy_. It made him feel like-

No. He couldn’t think like that. Shiro was an escort. It was his job to make people feel comfortable. And he was fucking phenomenal at it. Which was good, considering his price.

Matt sighed. No. He shouldn’t get his hopes up.

Even if Shiro was everything he ever wanted.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiro stared at his glass of water.

“You look like you’re searching for the meaning of life in that glass.” A voice spoke up from beside him.

Shiro would deny that he ever yelped and nearly spilled his drink on himself until his dying days. No one could prove it happened.

“Oh, nothing so deep as that.” Shiro laughed and looked over at Pidge.

She contemplated him a bit longer, round glasses glinting ominously. Shiro gulped. Matt had warned him about her. Surely she wasn’t that bad?

“So, a vet, huh?” She said, picking up a shish kebob from the table. “That must be costly.” She said innocently as she snatched a piece of chicken from the spike with her teeth.

Shiro could feel sweat dripping down his back.

“Mm,” He nodded, taking another sip of his water. “It’s a good thing I’m really good at saving money.”

“Of course,” She gave him an impish grin. “I could tell by your expensive suit.”

Oh no. No, no, no. He was _not_ going to lose this. He was Takashi fucking Shirogane. He’d been working as an escort for seven goddamn years. He could keep up an act while getting face fucked by an old man that smelled like moldy cheese. He wasn’t about to lose to this kid.

“I lost a bet,” He said sheepishly, shooting her a rueful smile.

“You got an expensive suit because you lost a bet?” Her eyebrow raised in disbelief.

“Matt had been pestering me to let him buy me a nice suit for this event. I told him I didn’t want him to buy me one out of pity.” He shrugged. “He bet me he could fit more cheese puffs in his mouth than I could. Turns out he was right.”

She blinked. “That does sound like something he would do.”

“There’s a reason I fell in love with the man.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed at him. “You’re good.” She conceded.

Shiro’s smile stayed firmly in place. “I try.”

She looked impressed and he considered that a win in his favour. Before he could say anything else, the music petered out into silence and a man stepped up to the stage at the front of the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” The man proclaimed loudly. His orange moustache twitched with excitement. “We’re all here today to congratulate a very promising young engineer. Matthew Holt has broken records all over the world by being the youngest recipient of this award. Let’s give a round of applause to him!” He moved away from the microphone with a gallant bow, making room for Matt to swagger up to it.

Shiro took Matt in as the spotlight settled on him. He was looking very handsome in his new suit and the green tie really brought out his eyes. Shiro would readily admit he’d spent a large portion of the night staring at Matt’s soft lips, always ready with a smile.

Shiro just wanted to kiss him.

Matt looked out at the crowd, eyes lingering on Shiro a bit longer than the others. He leaned towards the microphone, eyes bright with emotion.

“Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me,” Matt said seriously and Shiro heard Pidge groan beside him. “I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Oh, dear God.

“You wanna know what my reply was?” Matt asked dramatically, looking off into the distance. “I said, ‘Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you.’”

Did he just Rick Roll the entire audience?

Shiro wanted to marry him.

“But in all seriousness, sometimes I wanted to give up, but I had a lot of support. I just wanna thank my family, my super awesome smart sister Katie and…” he paused, looking up at Shiro. “And my sweet, caring boyfriend. Shiro, why don’t you come up here?”

Shiro could feel his face heating up and he awkwardly made his way up on stage to stand stiffly beside Matt. Wow, it was really bright in here and Matt was so close and-

“Kiss him!” A voice called out from the audience. It sounded suspiciously like Sam Holt.

The crowd took up the chant and all Shiro could hear was “kiss him, kiss him, kiss him”. He looked over at Matt who gave him an apologetic look. And just like that, Shiro found himself relaxing. Matt was a dork. He was frighteningly smart. He was scarily hot. But above all of that, he was a nice person.

Matt gave him a devil-may-care grin before grabbing him by his tie and yanking him down for a searing kiss.

The crowd went wild and Shiro knew he was lost.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt was having a crisis.

He was laying on his couch, head tilted over the edge of the cushions and legs propped up on the back. He stared morosely at his cell phone sitting innocently on his coffee table.

How does one tell their super hot escort that they’d like to go out for real?

Was Shiro even interested in him? He’d seemed so into it and that kiss had been-

Matt squirmed on the couch. He’d never had a kiss like _that_ before.

But at the same time, that was Shiro’s job. It was quite literally what he did for a living. Matt was probably just another schmuck paying thousands of dollars for a taste of perfection.

“Ugh,” Matt groaned, letting himself slowly slide off the couch like a piece of melting cheese.

He wished he could spend time with Shiro where he _wasn’t_ paying him an outrageous sum of money to spend time with him. Maybe then he could get to know the _real_ Shiro and either get over this newfound obsession with the realization that it was all an act, or…

Fall completely head over heels.

He didn’t know what to do.

He rolled over, pushing himself up so he was sitting on the couch like a normal person. He grabbed his phone, staring at the lock screen in contemplation. Maybe he should just-

Bzzt.

Matt blinked as his phone signified a new email from his boss, Coran. Opening it up, he could see it was a list of new potential projects for him to consider. He’d spent a lot of sleepless nights working on his tricorder that he’d decided to take a bit of a break afterwards. It was probably about time he picked up something new. He had the freedom to pick whatever he wanted, but sometimes Coran would send him a list like this to see if anything caught his interest.

Maybe that’s what he needed right now to get his mind off Shiro.

Matt perused the list. No, no, hell no, no, maybe, no- oh.

Okay, screw getting over Shiro. Matt may have just found what he needed to spend some time with him and get some work done at the same time.

God, he was brilliant.

He jumped up from his couch, rushing to his spare room to start making some drafts.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Can we see each other again?”

Shiro just barely prevented himself from grimacing in disgust as he quickly buttoned up his shirt, ignoring the throbbing pain from his prosthetic. His most recent client (a new one that he would _not_ be entertaining again) was still sprawled in bed, a cigar held firmly between his teeth.

“If I’m not already booked up.” He replied, slipping into his jeans and not even bothering with the belt. His jeans were the softest pair he owned but it still felt like sandpaper against the marks on his skin. Shiro didn’t mind a little BDSM, but this had gone far beyond that. These jeans were probably going to be ruined thanks to the blood seeping from a few cuts.

No, he wouldn’t be available for this guy again. He’d have to warn his manager not to let him order another escort.

Later, though. Right now, he just wanted to go home and shower for a thousand years.

Making his way as calmly as he could from the guy’s giant mansion (he was a politician of some kind, Shiro was sure of it), he hailed a cab and finally let himself relax as the taxi pulled away from the perfectly manicured lawn.

Desires Escort Services tried its best to screen potential clients and weed out the creeps, but every once in awhile, one slithered his way in.

He slipped into his apartment as quietly as he could manage, but he should have known it was useless. Champion bounded towards him excitedly but stopped when Shiro put his fingers to his lips. He padded silently over to him instead and Shiro knelt beside him.

“You can’t be loud, you’ll wake up the neighbours.” He whispered, wrapping his arms around the dog in a hug that felt a little too desperate.

Champion huffed, licking his hand gently.

“Alright, I’m going to have a shower.” Shiro murmured, making his way to his bathroom. “You can’t come with me!” He laughed as Champion padded after him.

After a long shower and a mug of hot chocolate, Shiro lounged on his couch. He didn’t feel like sleeping right now. Instead, he pulled out a book and settled down to read.

An hour later, his work phone buzzed on the coffee table.

Shiro sighed. He really didn’t want to meet with another client today. He didn’t have another appointment until Friday and he’d planned to keep it that way. He glanced at the display on his phone.

Matt!

He snatched the phone off the table.

“Matt,” he greeted warmly.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry! I was just about to hang up when I realized what time it was! I hope I didn’t wake you up?”

Shiro could feel the tension still lingering in his shoulders seep out at the other man’s voice. Matt just made him feel so relaxed and comfortable. If that was all he ever did for Shiro, it would be more than enough.

“No, no it’s fine. I was already awake.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good. Great.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Did you need something?” Shiro asked carefully.

“Oh. Oh! Yes! Sorry, I haven’t slept in like, three days and I’m running on Mountain Dew and cheese puffs and I’m pretty sure I started being able to see sound, like, five hours ago and I think I might have fallen asleep with my eyes open, is that even possible?”

Shiro was going to get verbal whiplash at this rate. “I don’t know, but it sounds like you should probably sleep for at least two days.”

“You’re probably right, but I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind helping me out. Not like that!” He stammered. “Not for, you know, hot escort action or anything. I mean, like, in a science capacity. Like, experiments. Wait, that sounds weird. Uh…prosthetics! I am designing a new type of prosthetic.”

When Shiro’s brain finally caught up with the words tumbling from Matt’s mouth, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Matt was designing a new prosthetic?

“I mean, I would be happy to pay for pizza and stuff whenever you’re here, and you’d get to be the first one to try out the prototypes and if I’m able to make something awesome I’d make you one for free. It’s just you’re the only one I know with one and it seemed like yours was giving you some trouble. My goal is to make prosthetics that are more cost effective so that it’s affordable for the people that need them.”

Was this really happening right now?

“And, I mean, I might have had an idea on how to make it so you could actually _feel_ through the prosthetic as if it were your real limb, but I haven’t tested the theory yet and you’re not really saying anything so I hope I haven’t weirded you out and please say something.”

Was this guy for real?

Shiro sucked in a wet sounding breath. He would not cry on the phone, goddammit. “I…I’d be happy to help you with that.” He managed to choke out.

“A-awesome!” Matt stuttered, sounding so excited. “Well, I’m awake and you’re awake so…we could start right now?”

Shiro smiled at his enthusiasm. “I’m not coming over until you get some sleep.”

“Aw, c’mon Shiro! Why you gotta be like that?”

“Apparently you need _someone_ to look out for your well-being.”

Matt huffed. “Fine. I’ll get some rest _mom_.”

“I think you mean _daddy,_ ” Shiro said before he could stop himself.

Matt made a choking noise like a strangled cat. “The goal is for me to get sleep, mister. You’re not helping.”

Shiro laughed. “Get back to me when you’ve stopped seeing sound.”

“Fine, fine.” 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how does it feel?” Matt asked nervously, feeling excitement bubble up in his chest.

This was the first prototype that actually seemed to be working the way he wanted it to. He was eager to see what Shiro would think of it.

Shiro stared at the arm secured to his stump. “Just the fact that it doesn’t have straps is a miracle in and of itself.” He said slowly, moving his arm around in awe. “It’s so _light_.”

“Yeah, this material is light like plastic so I can use a 3D printer to machine the parts but it’s also strong enough that you could probably punch a brick wall and it wouldn’t cause more than a scratch. Which could be easily polished out.”

“This is amazing.” Shiro whispered, looking up at Matt with bright eyes. “You’re amazing.”

Matt blushed right down to his toes. “I’m might swoon!” He said dramatically.

“Not if I do first.”

“Please don’t, my noodle arms wouldn’t be able to hold up your muscles, hot stuff.”

Shiro laughed and Matt’s whole body tingled at the sound. Making Shiro laugh had become the highlight of his day, lately.

They’d been working on this project for months now. Shiro would come over, he’d try on the latest prototype, they’d talk about issues or ideas and then they’d just…hang out. Play video games, watch a movie.

They’d become friends.

Or at least, he felt they were friends. He certainly didn’t spend this much time with anyone else and when they weren’t together they texted each other constantly. Not just about the project either, but their lives.

Matt had learned Shiro had a younger brother, Keith whom he had practically raised himself after their grandmother passed away when Shiro was eighteen. He didn’t outright say it, but it was heavily implied that their grandmother had saved them from abusive parents. Shortly after that, he’d lost his arm when a drunk driver hit him while he was waiting for the bus. He’d become an escort to help pay the hospital bills, his schooling and for Keith.

He was a goddamn survivor.

“Well, maybe if you actually worked out and ate a salad every once and awhile you could build some muscle.”

“How _dare_ you. I get enough vegetables, thank you very much.”

“Pizza toppings don’t count.”

Matt posed like a super hero. “You see this right here? This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.”

Shiro snorted just as his phone buzzed on the table.

“Damn, is it that the time already!?” He exclaimed, carefully taking off the prosthetic before grabbing his own and quickly attaching it. “I have a regular client I need to meet. I’m so sorry.”

Matt’s heart sank. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Text me when you’re done, yeah?”

“Of course,” Shiro nodded, hopping into his shoes. “I’ll bring Akira next time. I _will_ make you see that movie.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah get outta here.”

Matt watched as Shiro took off.

His absence left the room feeling cold.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt was startled awake by his phone chiming out the Game of Thrones theme.

“Wha?” He mumbled, reaching blindly for his phone. He’d fallen asleep at his desk again. God, his back hurt.

He looked at his phone, 1:02AM shining so brightly it felt like his eyeballs were being stabbed by the sun. Who the hell was calling him at this time?

The display read “Shiro-pon”.

“Shiro?” He said sleepily, cradling the phone to his ear.

“Oh…” Shiro mumbled. “I meant to call Keith.” His voice was so slurred it sounded like he had drunk half a bar. 

Matt frowned, a spike of alarm shooting down his back. Shiro didn’t drink alcohol. “Everything okay, Shiro?”

“Yes…no…I-“ He cut off and it sounded like he’d dropped his phone. There was some shuffling and then he spoke again. “Keith?”

Matt was already getting out of his chair, rubbing his eyes to remove the last remnants of sleep. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “Shiro? It’s Matt. Where are you?”

“Oh.” Shiro paused, the silence stretching as Matt’s heart pounded.

“Shiro?”

“I-I could use some company.”

“I’m coming right now but I need you to tell me where you are, cupcake.” He said as he pulled on his shoes and grabbed his car keys.

“Home.” Shiro’s voice was getting quieter, more like a whisper.

Matt was glad he knew where that was. He didn’t think Shiro was up to giving him directions. “Stay there. Don’t move. I’m coming.”

“’Kay.”

Thankfully, Shiro’s place wasn’t very far from Matt’s apartment and the traffic was nearly non-existent this time of night.  He tore down the road, praying a police officer wouldn’t spot him.

By some miracle, the front door’s lock was busted, and he was able to get in without having to buzz Shiro. He bounced impatiently in the elevator as he made his way up to the tenth floor.

“Shiro?” He called out as quietly as he could manage through the man’s apartment door.

There was no reply and Matt’s heart fell right down to his feet. He grabbed the door knob and was surprised to find it unlocked. Shiro must have been so out of it he didn’t lock it behind him.

“Shiro!” He called out again, peering into the impeccably clean apartment after locking the door.

There was a quiet bark further in. Champion.

“M’ here.” Shiro’s voice mumbled.

Matt turned on the light and saw Shiro slumped against the wall near the bathroom, Champion sprawled on his legs and whimpering in concern. Stumbling over himself in his haste, Matt hurried over to his friend.

“Shiro, what happened?” He asked, taking in his rumpled shirt and missing shoes.

Shiro peered up at him, eyes unfocused. There was a bruise blossoming on his cheek and Matt could just make out blood on his shirt. Shit.

“M’okay.” Shiro mumbled as Matt knelt beside him to check for injuries.

“There’s blood!” Matt squeaked.

“S’not mine.”

“What happened?”

“S’okay, ‘s not the firs’ time. Won’ be the last.”

Matt grimaced. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“No,” Shiro groaned, stopping him with a firm grip on his shirt. “It’ll wear off.”

“Shiro, are you drugged?”

“Tried to roofie me.”

“I don’t think he tried, sweet cheeks, he succeeded.”

“No, I hit ‘im.” Shiro sounded so proud of himself. Matt glanced at his hands and noticed his knuckles were bruised. Champion was snuffling at them nervously. Well, at least the asshat got what he deserved. He was pretty sure Shiro’s punches hit like a semi-truck.

“You should go to the hospital.” Matt sighed as he absently pet down Champion’s back.

“I jus’ don’ wanna be alone.” Shiro mumbled, drooping forward.

“Okay, well before you completely pass out, help me get you into your bed. I can _not_ carry you, big guy.”

It seemed to take Shiro a moment to process that but eventually he started trying to get up. Matt had to drag Champion off him and holy shit, the dog was heavy.

He would not think about Shiro carrying him so easily. He would not think about Shiro carrying him so easily. He would not-

Shit.

He half carried, half dragged Shiro to his room. The bed, of course, was made with military precision and hardly looked slept in. Matt staggered over to it.

“Okay, beefcake, get in.”

“Thanks, Matt.” Shiro mumbled, before just collapsing forward and passing out right on top of Matt. The genius flailed before teetering over onto the bed. Shiro was out cold and Matt was trapped with a very hot, very clingy escort draped over parts of his body that were very interested in his current predicament.

This was going to be a long night.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m so, so sorry.” Shiro said again for the millionth time that day.

Matt looked up from his adjustments to the prosthetic. “It’s fine, honey cake, I’m just glad you reached out to me. Or, well, Keith. But you got me. It worked out. Just, please be careful, okay?”

Shiro sighed, embarrassed. “He was a regular, he’d never done anything like that before.”

“It doesn’t matter, I just don’t like the thought of you being-” Matt cut himself off, turning back to the prosthetic. He fiddled with some wiring, movements jerky.

Shiro looked up at the ceiling. Matt was so close, working on the prosthetic attached to Shiro’s stub, he could feel the heat radiating off him in waves. “I got out before he and his buddies could-“

Matt dropped his screwdriver. “Buddies!?”

“Ah…”

“Shiro. You almost got gang-banged!” Matt spluttered. “Don’t pretend it’s something it’s not!”

“I’m not!” Shiro could feel annoyance mixed with shame well up in his chest. “I can take care of myself.”

Matt breathed carefully through his nose as he picked up the screwdriver. “I know that, trust me.” His fingers tightened around the handle. “I just wish you didn’t have to keep taking that chance.”

Shiro felt the fight drain out of him. He could admit this time things had gotten out of hand. He’d had issues before, but not like-

“I’m finished school in two months. I should be okay to stop once I’m able to get into a clinic. Keith has a part-time job now, it’s helping.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about your prosthetic anymore after this baby. “ Matt grinned, patting the prosthetic as he closed up the panel. “I’ll do all your tune-ups for free because I’m awesome.”

Shiro smiled. “You are.”

Matt blushed and Shiro really, _really_ wanted to kiss him.

“Well, let me show you more of my genius,” Matt said after a moment. “Check this out.” He grabbed Shiro’s prosthetic hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Shiro could _feel_ it.

His heart pounded in his chest as he was able to squeeze Matt’s hand back. He could-

“Matt…” He said quietly, voice trembling.

“Can you feel it?” The brunette asked, golden-brown eyes intense.

Shiro lifted the prosthetic towards Matt’s face, gently cupping his cheek. He could feel his skin, warmth sinking into his palm. The arm moved so smoothly. It didn’t feel like a giant mass of electronics encased in plastic. It felt like-

His hand slid back to run through Matt’s hair, each strand soft and-

He had an arm again.

He didn’t realize he was crying until Matt reached up to gently wipe the tears from his eyes. His own eyes were bright with excitement.

“I hope these are excited tears.” He said softly, tilting his head to get a better look at Shiro.

Shiro surged forward, capturing Matt’s lips with his own. The other man seemed surprised, but it didn’t take long for him to kiss back, one arm wrapping around Shiro’s neck and the other entwining his finger’s with Shiro’s prosthetic.

Shiro had wanted to do this for a long time.

Matt pulled back slightly, panting for breath. “Holy shit.”

“I love you.” Shiro said softly, unable to prevent the smile stretching across his face.

Matt’s eyes widened in shock before he kissed Shiro again. He started peppering Shiro’s face with kisses. “I’ve wanted-“ Kiss. “this-“ Kiss. “so much.” He captured Shiro’s mouth once more with intent, pressing his body up against the planes of his chest. Shiro’s skin burned with electric fire at the touch. “You gonna show me what seven years worth of sexcapades has taught you?”

“I’ll give you a discount if you never call it sexcapades again.”

Matt squawked indignantly. “I’m not paying you!”

“You have to. With kisses.”

“Oh, well, I guess I can pay that. You really drive a hard bargain.”

“I try.”

Matt grinned, pulling Shiro towards his bedroom. “I need a comfortable, flat surface _now_ so I can show you how much I love you too.”

Shiro was looking forward to it.

 

Click [here](https://twitter.com/Sky_Darko_/status/1114581022606266369) for some slightly NSFW fanart of Shiro's photo for the escort website! 

This beautiful fanart was done by [skydarko](https://skydarko.tumblr.com/)!!

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact #1: I actually went and looked up escort websites for research. What was seen cannot be unseen. I may need to burn out my eyeballs now. At least I didn't get a virus cause it seemed to be a very real possibility.
> 
> Fun Fact #2: I also went and read some stories from people who claimed to be escorts. There seemed to be a wide range of experiences so I tried to showcase a few. You ever wanna be grossed out, go take a look. :P
> 
> Fun Fact #3: I thought fanfiction had burned away any remnants of innocence I ever had, but I was wrong. So wrong. I honestly thought escorts really didn't have sex with their clients. I'm an idiot.
> 
> Please feel free to talk to me about Voltron on [Tumblr](http://eilera-chan.tumblr.com/). :)


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